Past comes haunting Sanjay Dutt

Trouble and controversy seem to be the middle name of Dutt junior.

indiaUpdated: Mar 02, 2006 12:57 IST

Indo-Asian News Service None

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt faces another low patch in his life after mobster Abu Salem said he had delivered arms and ammunition to the actor before the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts that killed nearly 300 people.

Ever since Abu Salem, a key conspirator in the serial blasts, was extradited by Portugal last year and brought to India for questioning, Sanjay had been on tenterhooks.

Abu Salem's confession in the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court in Mumbai on Wednesday that he had delivered the arms to Sanjay has come as a major blow for the actor who has vehemently denied his involvement with the blasts.

According to the confession made to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and made public in the court, Abu Salem said he had delivered three AK-56 rifles and some cartridges to Sanjay.

Sanjay, an important part of the Hindi film industry for more than two decades, has had his share of ups and downs.

When he was arrested under the TADA after the Mumbai blasts, Sanjay was at the peak of his career. Known as a spoilt kid of star parents Nargis and Sunil Dutt, who was also a former central minister, Sanjay is known for his temper.

Sanjay Dutt faces another low patch in his life after mobster Abu Salem said he had delivered arms and ammunition to the actor before the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts that killed nearly 300 people.

After his mother's death, Sanjay took to drugs. Nargis died before the release of Sanjay's first film "Rocky" in 1981, which did reasonably well at the box office.

Then followed Vidhata, a big hit. But he couldn't sustain his success story and delivered a string of flops like Mera Faisla, Bekaraar, Inaam Dus Hazaar. The scribes wrote him off.

Sanjay's career took a nosedive when he was sent to a rehabilitation centre to help him kick off his drug addiction.

He bounced back with Mahesh Bhatt's Naam in 1987, in which he played a young middle class guy who goes to Dubai in search of good money and ends up being a criminal. He consolidated his position with Sadak and Kabzaa.

Thanedar (1991) marked a turning point in Sanjay's career. The song Tamma tamma where he shook legs with dancing queen Madhuri Dixit became a rage. He scored another hit with Khalnayak, once again with Madhuri, in 1993.

But his luck ran out thereafter and he was arrested for involvement in the Mumbai blasts, shocking everyone. But he eventually won bail.

When he came out everybody was asking - will Sanjay strike back?

The actor put all speculation at rest with Mahesh Manjrekar's Vaastav, which struck gold at the box office. After his imprisonment days, Sanjay has mostly played negative characters.

Recently he delivered quite a few hits - the slapstick Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Parineeta, and Zinda.

Unlike his contemporaries Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff, Sanjay is still managing hits on his own. But as they say, success never comes without its ups and down. It is quite true in Sanjay's case!